The Black Alchemist
by GHOSTplanetINC
Summary: Is love in the air of Eastern? Well there's certainly a new alchemist in town! RoyxRiza .... Read and review!
1. Papers and Shadows

The Black Alchemist

Roy mustang sat at his desk, completely immersed in a mountain of paperwork. It had been a slow day at Eastern Command for the young colonel, one which consisted of the toils of filling out paper after paper in an unending cycle. Around him were his closest officers: Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc, Master Sergeant Kain Fuery, Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda, Warrant Officer Vato Falman, and of course Mustang's attractive right-hand woman, Captain Riza Hawkeye. Pausing from his work, Roy glanced over at Hawkeye. _She really is quite pretty_, he thought to himself, _I wonder if I should…no, no. I don't think I'd ever…_

Mustang's musings were cut off by the barking of Hawkeye's dog, Black Hayate, whom she had 'adopted' after MSgt Fuery brought him in one day off the streets. The barking seemed remote at first, coming from outside the office, but grew in volume until all of the officers were looking in the direction of the noise.

"Wh-what do ya think he wants?" Breda half-whispered, a thin film of sweat beginning to form on his brow. His fear of dogs became blatantly obvious every time he was in 20 feet of the animal; a fact which while funny at first now annoyed Roy to no end.

Provocatively, Roy replied "I'm sure I don't know. Why don't you go check it out, 2nd Lieutenant?"

"Wh-Wh-What!" Breda exclaimed, turning several shades of white at once. Sweat now poured down the poor Lieutenant's face.

"_I'll_ go see what it is," Hawkeye said, agitated at her superior's childishness. Besides being one of Mustang's closest allies, Hawkeye was also his voice of reason in most situations, although she could not help but feel a tingle of amusement at the colonel's antics. Of course, she made sure to keep this aspect of her nature hidden from the other officers at all times; the last thing she needed to deal with was more nonsense in the workplace.

As she reached the door to the hallway it seemed as though the barking was drawing nearer to the room. Indeed, footsteps were in fact coming down the hall and Hawkeye could almost hear the scampering of a small dog's paws not far behind…

Pulling open the door, Hawkeye came face to face with what appeared to be a living shadow. With the figure being no man of the military, Hawkeye immediately leapt back from the doorway and pulled out her pistol. She was one of the best shots in the entire military, putting her in 'no-miss' position with such little distance between her and the figure standing in the doorway. She had just lined the figure's head up in her sights when Roy called out from farther back in the room.

"Whoa, whoa, Captain, there's no need for such behavior. I've been expecting a visit from the famous Shadow Alchemist."

The figure took several steps into the room, his boots clinking as the steel heels connected with the floor. The sun shone on his face, revealing a mask covering his discernable features. With no nose visible and the mouth and right eye holes stitched shut, all that was visible was the man's left eye, which in turn was hidden by long locks of black hair which draped down to his neck. Around his throat was a locked collar; his waist, a belt with skull buckle, and on each wrist he wore spiked leather arm bands. He was clad in a black tank and black pants with his hands wrapped in what appeared to be bandages.

Hawkeye looked him up and down, noting his tall stature yet odd posture; indeed he was slightly wobbling back and forth where he stood.

"Hello Roy," he said in a raspy voice, "got any water?"

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Amidst the puzzled looks of his subordinates, Eastern Command colonel Roy Mustang briskly strode across the room and heartily shook hands with the stranger.

"Long time, no see, eh flame boy?" the 'shadow alchemist' remarked in a gravelly voice.

"You could say that again, you dog!" Roy laughed, jovially slapping the figure on the back. A cloud of dust billowed up while chunks of dirt and dried blood fell to the floor. "Damn, what have you been up to?"

Hawkeye cleared her throat loudly. During Roy's reunion with the dark individual the other officers had been left to merely look on, dumbstruck. Hawkeye decided it was time for an introduction, if not an explanation

"Sir, who may I ask is this?" she asked carefully.

The comment brought Roy back from his daze. "Hmmm? Oh, oh, right, right." To Hawkeye's dismay, he had obviously been oblivious to the rest of them as he met with his supposed 'old friend.' _He'll never learn,_ she thought to herself, shaking her head.

Roy wheeled around to face the other officers. "Allow me to introduce Jack Alexiv, the Shadow Alchemist."

All of the officers, with the exception of Hawkeye, jumped back as the blood drained from their faces.

"I-I thought he was just a myth!" whispered Fuery to Falman.

"There's no way…" Havoc trailed off.

Breda said nothing, yet wore an expression of awe mixed with terror. Hawkeye, who was in truth slightly awed, made the first appropriate response to the new alchemist.

In a professional tone, she began "Pleased to meet you, sir, I am Captain Riza Hawkeye. I apologize for my earlier…"

"Ah, that's okay!" Jack said nonchalantly, dismissing the action with a casual wave of his hands. The fact that he had shrugged off nearly being shot at point black range only served to add to the aura surrounding him. He took a few more clinking steps into the room before tripping on the large rug covering part of the floor, landing with a thud. From within the resulting cloud of dust, a raspy voice was heard. "Ow…"


	2. Passing Notes

Chapter 2: Passing Notes

As Jack picked himself up, Havoc snapped out of his dumbstruck, awed state. "Jeez, what have you been up to lately?" he asked while fanning away some of the dust with his hand.

Coughing, Jack leaned back on Fuery's desk, sprinkling dust on the piles of papers as he shook his head. He glanced over at Fuery who was becoming annoyed at having his desk showered in dirt. Fuery noticed the glance and responded with a forced smile; a very, very forced smile. Besides sporting a strained smile, Fuery's skin also turned a shade paler. Noticing this, Jack snapped his fingers.

"Oh! I almost forgot to take off my mask" he exclaimed. He carefully unwrapped the bandages from his right index and middle fingers and tapped the lock on his collar. The lock opened, the collar was slid off, and Jack yanked off the shadowy mask. Although one mask was taken off, Jack's hair fell in front of his face immediately filling in for the mask's absence. His right eye was hidden behind his dark black hair but the rest of his tanned face could be seen. He smiled to the crowd of officers. "Much better." he remarked, hoping the smile would help ease tensions between he and the group of people around him. _Why does this always happen?_ he thought to himself with a silent sigh.

Roy sat back down at his desk, leaning back in his chair, while the other officers also returned to theirs. As Hawkeye made her way back to her desk, she glanced back at the 'Shadow Alchemist' to get a better look of him now unmasked. Despite a few bags under his eyes, he looked pretty cute, she thought, perhaps even _handsome_. She abruptly caught her thoughts there and mentally slapped herself. _Did I just tell myself that this guy is cute? I barely know him!_ she thought, surprised at herself, _though, he is pretty cute… No! Stop that! _She sat down at her desk and delved back into her paperwork to get her mind off of thinking about whether or not this new alchemist was cute. A quick sigh, and she was back to scribbling down notes on various documents.

Roy sat back up in his chair. "So Jack, where _have_ you been lately?" he asked, fairly interested. Jack scratched his head with a yawn, as more dirt and dust fell around him. "Hmm, well…" looked up at the ceiling, as if trying to gather his thoughts, "…you know, just been kind of here and there. Missions are missions when you're a dog of the military, after all!" he said with a bit of laugh. _That's it, _he thought to himself, _just be as vague as possible._ Clapping his hands together Jack jumped to his feet. "So… is there a shower or something I could use, I'm sort of…dusty."

"Yeah, more like the dust bunny king." Havoc thought, chewing on the end of his cigarette. Roy stood up. "Seeing as how its just about time for a lunch-break anyway, MSgt Fuery could show you to the dormitories' for the shower while WO Falman finds you a spare uniform," he said while motioning towards Fuery and Falman to say that it was, in fact, an order. The two officers accompanied the alchemist as they walked out of the office, leaving Breda, Havoc, Hawkeye, and Mustang to themselves. Hawkeye turned to face Roy, eyeing him suspiciously. "Sir, why are you in such a charitable mood all of a sudden?" "Yeah, what's with this 'Mr. Nice Guy routine?" Havoc agreed. Roy moved back towards his desk, frowning as he organized his large stacks of paperwork. "The Shadow Alchemist is the military's master of stealth and espionage operations. He's attainted a legacy for his exploits which befits only the top echelon of military personnel, like me," he stated, as the other officers rolled their eyes, "Think of the possible benefits of having him here in Eastern under my command." He started towards the door followed by the others. "Besides," he added as he opened the door, "he's an old friend of mine."

Fuery and Falman strode besides Jack as they made their way towards the military dormitories. "Say," Jack casually began, breaking the silence, "Anyone notice a 'thing' going on between Roy and what's-her-face, uh, Hawkeye?" Fuery spun around on his heel, apparently interested. "What're you talking about?" he asked with genuine interest. "Oh nothing, nothing," Jack replied with a smirk drawn wide across his face.

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An hour after lunch, Roy was tired. Tired or paperwork, tired of signing his name, just plain tired. As he leaned back in his chair, Hawkeye reminded him of his responsibilities as colonel. As he folded his hands behind his head, two bullets zipped past his head and embedded themselves into the wall. Roy sat back up and began to fill out the papers in front of him as Hawkeye holstered her pistol. A minute later Fuery and Falman entered into the office and reassumed their seats behind their desks. Roy looked up from his paperwork and called them up to his desk in an agitated voice.

"Yes, sir?" asked Falman. Fuery stood next to Falman. Taking his time, to both make the two officers sweat and get the most of his distraction from his paperwork, Roy looked them both in the eye. "MSgt Fuery, where exactly is the alchemist you and WO Falman were ordered to accompany?" he asked. "W-well Sir, he dismissed us," Fuery responded shakily. Roy's eyes widened in surprise. "He WHAT!" yelled the young colonel at the younger master sergeant. "W-well he is technically higher than either Falman or me in rank, S-Sir," Fuery added quickly. Roy sighed in exasperation. "Fine, whatever, dismissed." He began to scribble furiously on the papers in front of him. "If he doesn't get back soon, I'll end up missing my date!" Roy mumbled. "Actually, you'll miss it anyway if you don't finish your paper work, colonel." Hawkeye replied calmly. Roy scowled and continued to fill out paper after paper. Havoc also scowled; _the date you stole from **me**, you mean! _ he thought to himself as he accidentally bit off the end of his cigarette. Roy glanced over to see Havoc gagging on and spitting out what appeared to be the remnants of a cigarette. "Is there a problem Lt Havoc?" he asked amusedly. With a sickly sweet smile, Havoc replied, "Why, no problems here, Sir. Everything's just peachy!" Roy looked back at his desk, frowned, and slumped down in his chair. "Crap," he mumbled and sighed. Another gunshot got him back on track.

The clock read six pm as Roy reached the end of his papers. "Ha! Done for the day," he sighed as he straightened a pile of papers. "Well done colonel," Hawkeye said, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Perhaps tomorrow you can finish it on time." Roy smirked, "Only if I feel like letting you get out of here on time, Captain." Hawkeye half-scowled at him, as he did have a point. Then again, if not for her staying behind Roy would leave each day perpetually crushed by an ever mounting pile of papers. She smiled at the thought of her overall importance and began to head for the door. Roy's smirk waned as he saw Hawkeye leaving. "I guess I'll see you tomorr…" he started before being cut off by a black blur which quickly flashed in and out of the room. Looking around, Roy noticed a note pinned to the front of his uniform:

Flame:

Spending the night on the town. Meet tomorrow instead.

-Shadow

Roy couldn't believe Jack would pull a stunt like this. Then again, Jack (or Shadow, his alias) had been known to be a bit disregarding of authority when not on a mission. Before crumpling the note, Roy noticed one additional message:

P.S. It looks like a great night for a walk, Romeo

By this time, Hawkeye had walked back over to Mustang and noticed the note in his hand. "What's this?" she asked, reaching over the grab the piece of paper. With a slick jerk, Roy pulled back the paper and, with a snap of his fingers, incinerated it. "It's nothing, really," he said to an unconvinced Captain. "Say," he continued slowly, "Would you mind if I walked you home?"


	3. Multiple Meetings

Chapter 3: Multiple Meetings

The city was cold and desolate, a victim of the rain and wind brought in by the approaching storm. Umbrellas were open, raincoats pulled tightly on, and the sound of hurried footsteps through shallow puddles echoed through the flooded streets. No one stopped, or talked, or even seemed to care about anything about anything other than the rain. If you looked quickly enough, you'd miss seeing the shadow in the alleyway; that is, of course, if you'd ever seem him at all.

Usually the shadows were his base of operations, but this was different from the usual. Eastern had been likened to a war zone by ill-contented critics over the years, perhaps because of the revolution in Ishbal, but compared to a true battlefield it was little more than a small metropolis. Jack found himself different here was well. He had decided to keep his mask in his pocket, instead sporting a pair of dark shades over his eyes. While he did stand out a little bit from the rest of the crowd, in part due to his sunglasses, Jack found he was actually more at ease now than he ever had been before. _I've been away **way** too long_, he thought to himself as he allowed the pounding rain to wash over his entire body. He looked to his left, then to his right. No one paid him much attention, treating him like any member of the faceless masses that walked the sidewalks of Eastern day in and day out. _Just like them…but **much** cooler,_ he smirked as he headed down the dark streets. Darkness and heavy rain. Generally a dismal sight to most, jack couldn't get enough of it. After all, several months in the blazing desert left for a certain appreciation of precipitation. _Let's have some fun,_ Jack thought to himself as he slicked back his soaked bangs and rounded a random street corner.

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"Would you mind if I walked you home?" Roy asked, incinerating the note in his hand with a snap of his gloved hand. Normally, Riza would have scolded him for his flagrant misuse of alchemy while in a military compound, but now she was focused on his question. Her heart began to beat faster as she, without thinking, replied, "I'd love it, Sir." Roy smiled warmly hearing the response and stood up from his desk, "Great! I'll get our coats," striding over to the coat rack. Meanwhile, Riza leaned back on her desk, a little confused over what had just happened. _Did I really just say that I'd **love **it?_ she wondered nervously. _I hope this all doesn't inflate Roy's ego,_ she smiled to herself while the back of her mind was busy screaming, _Yay!_ Still her emotions were coaxing different thoughts as well._ Well I did say I'd **love **it and he did smile at that. Maybe…_ Her thoughts were interrupted by a gentle hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Roy's smiling face looking beaming back down at her. "Ready to go?"

When Roy had heard Riza's reply his heart skipped a beat. _She said she'd **love **to! **Love!**_ Roy smiled to himself as he got their coats. Somehow the word 'love' coming from Riza seemed almost impossible, but it was true! She had said she'd **love** to have him walk her home. It surprised Roy how at ease he felt at that moment, though his heart had begun to pick up speed as he walked back over toward Riza. He noticed that she was apparently deep in thought and gently placed his hand on her shoulder, his heart skipping a beat in the process. Hoping _he_ wasn't blushing, Roy's eyes met Riza's as he innocently asked, "Ready to go?"

Eastern was now immersed within the storm. Rain pounded down in torrents, soaking anything unfortunate enough to have to be outside. Holding the door for Riza as she exited the building, Roy pulled a large umbrella out from his coat pocket. Riza smirked, "Looks like you're just about prepared for anything, Sir." Roy smiled, "Well what good am I as the flam alchemist if I'm soaked from head to toe?" he laughed. "By the way, since we are technically off the job… you can call me Roy if you like. Riza blushed a bit, "Of course…Roy," she said with a small giggle. Calling her superior by his first name had tickled her tongue as she said it. "What's so funny?" Roy asked lightly, secretly wondering whether she was laughing at him. Riza caught her self and stopped giggling, "Oh, uh, it's nothing really." Feeling a little relieved, Roy looked back out at the street ahead of them. It still didn't look very inviting and if anything it seemed as if the rain was getting heavier by the moment. "Well," he said with a little remorse for having to get soaked, "Shall we go?" Riza moved closer to Roy under the umbrella, making his face burn bright red. "Let's go!" she said cheerily, and the two officers departed into the downpour.

Together they made their way down street under Roy's umbrella. The wind drove the rain horizontally, forcing the two officers to huddle together to minimize the sting of the blowing rain drops. Suddenly aware of how close Riza was to him, Roy looked over at Riza who, to his surprise, caught his gaze with her eyes at the exact same time. Roy swiftly adjusted his gaze down at the ground in embarrassment. _Wait a minute, what the hell am I doing? What am I, thirteen?_ Roy complained to himself in his head. He didn't have long to complain as he tripped over the curb at the end of the block and nearly fell, face first, into a very inviting murky puddle. Luckily for Roy he only nearly fell. At the moment he began to fall forward Riza's arms wrapped around his wait and pulled him back up. Roy righted himself and, looking down, noticed two other arms still wrapped around him. "Um, th-thank you Captain," he said as his face became a nice shade of crimson. Riza withdrew her arms quickly, sporting a blush similar to Roy's. "Well I couldn't just let you fall flat on you're face. I'd never hear the end of it," she said with a laugh. Roy smiled, _It actually does sound like something I might complain about, _he imagined.

Six blocks, fifteen minutes, and several gallons of rain later the couple arrived at Riza's apartment. Stepping under the awning in front of her door they were shielded from the rain. _And now you kiss her goodnight_, cam a thought into Roy's head. _No! _thought another voice, _you kiss her and then go inside!_ Finally Roy's superego took the helm, _Shut up, all of you, I'd never do that Riza! _Finally Roy had taken about all he could take of the bickering thoughts within his own head. He shook his head back and forth the clear the thoughts, flinging water all around him. Riza giggled and laughed at the sight of Roy Mustang shaking his head like a wet dog. She pushed her key into the slot and opened the door. The sound of the lock clicking open snapped Roy back to reality. "Thank you for walking me home Roy," she said with a smile, upset that their walk was over already. "I'll see you tomorrow then," she smiled as she began to close the door. Like being struck by lightning Roy leapt forward, getting his hand between the door and the doorframe just before they made contact, yelling "Wait!" Riza opened the door again, "Roy! Are you okay?" she asked looking at his squashed hand. "I'm fine, really," he assured her quickly, adding "Say, um, if you're not busy… well, tomorrow's Friday anyway so… I was just wondering…would you like to go out to dinner?" Riza eyes grew wide in surprise. _Is he asking me out?_ "Uh-um, sure! That's be great!" she said to the obviously nervous colonel in front of her. Roy grinned broadly, "Okay so how bout eight o'clock after work then? I'll swing by here and then we'll go?" Riza smirked, "Sure…If you finish your paperwork on time." Roy smiled again. "I'll see you tomorrow Roy," Riza said again, closing the door. "Wait!" Roy yelled again and, sure enough, got his hand caught in the door. "Roy! Are you okay…" Riza began. She was cut off by the swift meeting of Roy's lips to hers. Although the kiss only lasted about a minute, it seemed like hours to both Roy and Riza as they stood there in front of her apartment. They broke away and Riza stepped back into her apartment. "Sorry… just had to say goodnight," Roy said with a bright red face. Riza only smiled as she closed the door, making sure no hands were going to come between it and the door frame this time. Walking slowly, Roy made his way down the block from Riza's apartment, forgetting that his umbrella was closed in his pocket, hypnotized by none other than love. Suddenly his hand began to sting like crazy. _I don't think shoving my hand in the door was the best idea,_ he thought to himself as he made his way back towards his own apartment on the other side of town. At the same time, Riza's mind registered what had just happened. Her face turned bright red as she remembered her 'goodnight kiss.' _Well, _she thought to herself, _that was certainly unexpected._

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Sand beats against the ruined buildings as a sandstorm approaches. Heat dies away, replaced by a freezing cold which creeps along the dunes as light fades away. It is night in Ishbal. General Basque Grand commands a division of the military's alchemists to put down an uprising in the Eastern province. The dogs of the military serve as implements of exterminating the Ishbalans, destroying a people to destroy their cause. A single alchemist is sent far further than any of the others. He is the master of espionage and intelligence on this mission. He is the plague of Ishbala. He is only a shadow.

He is only known by a code name: Shadow. Rarely has he met face to face with the commanding officer, much to his pleasure, as he only has one assignment. His job is to create havoc behind the enemy lines and strike fear into the hearts of the revolutionaries. So far he has done this well, summarizing his effectiveness in the number of Ishabalan corpses found by fellow alchemists as they progress through the city. He has made great effectiveness of his alchemical abilities: his manipulation of kinetic energy. By increasing the kinetic energy between his molecules super speed is attainable all too easily. With the addition of the ring on his finger, issued by Gen. Grande prior to deployment, targets are eliminated before his presence is known. That is, of course, until the stone shattered…

Shadow opened his eyes. Through the caked blood and sand he saw the remnants of a jail around him; half of the cell he was in was collapsed as a result of some type of explosive. His wrists were shackled to the wall. The shackles were unnecessary as he couldn't have moved even if he wanted to. Breathing was a laborious task as ribs broken by the butt of a rifle scraped his lungs as the expanded and his diaphragm helped only to pump out the blood which was trickling into the lungs. His head began to spin from the task of taking a few wheezing breaths. As he blacked out, he saw two Ishbalans brandishing a knife and a rifle each, come toward him…

Jack sat up abruptly, bathed in a cold sweat. Or was it rain? Jack couldn't tell. A look around and the feel of rain pummeling his skin reminded him that he was outside. He had fallen asleep in the park a few blocks away from Eastern Command Headquarters and was sprawled out on the branch of a tree, concealed by the wet leaves and branches. One thing about being a master of espionage and intelligence was that you never rested in the open, which basically explained why he had woken up in a tree. Jumping down from tree Jack realized how cold night became in Eastern, almost as if he was back in Ishbal… His head was pounding and he wiped a smear of lipstick off his neck. _I guess I did find some fun after all_, he thought to himself as he made his way out the park.

Wandering in the streets for what seemed like hours, Jack saw someone who he thought he recognized. "Is that Roy?" he whispered, rubbing his eyes to make sure it wasn't just the fatigue talking, "No, no it is Roy! And Hawkeye?" Sure enough it was both Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye standing at what appeared to be Riza's apartment. _Hmm, looks as though Roy is working his charm._ Stepping into an alley, Jack waited until he saw Roy walk past him down the block and turn the corner. It was around that time that it dawned on him that he was completely lost, given the fact that he had never really anywhere in Eastern except Ishbal. _Now if we were in **Central**…Wait! I'm getting off topic!_ Stepping out of the alley he made his way down to Riza's apartment. He stopped his hand before knocking on the door. _Wait a minute, _he thought to himself, _If what I've heard is right, she might shoot me for showing up like this… Ah, what the hell. _He knocked twice on the door and prepared to be staring down the barrel of a gun as the door opened. "Major Alexiv? What are you doing here at this hour, Sir?" asked a female voice. Opening his clenched shut eyes he sighed in relief at the fact that he hadn't been shot. "Oh, hello Captain Hawkeye! I was just out and about when I realized I had no place to stay the night. I was wondering if you could possibly point me in the direction of the Military dormitories. I seem to be a little…bewildered at the moment," he finished with an embarrassed grin.

Riza looked him up and down. He was standing under the awning in front of her door dripping wet from head to toe slightly shivering. She had a right mind to tell him to get lost, or shoot him for the disturbance, but something about his face made her reconsider. Hair fallen in front of his face, partially hiding his blue eyes (well the left one at least, the right eye was completely concealed), and an innocent grin gave a cute look to him. Against what she would consider her better judgment she said, "Well the dormitories are locked down by now so that wouldn't help your situation." She sighed, "You could spend the night here if you would like, Sir." Jack's visible eye widened considerably, "A-are you sure that's alright? S-sure thank you," he added with a little bow, mostly for effect. Riza smiled slightly at the young alchemist's antics. "Please, come in, Sir," she said motioning for him to follow her inside. "Ah, don't call me 'Sir.' Jack's fine." Riza laughed. "Fine and you can call me Riza." He shook her hand and stepped inside, "Pleased to make you acquaintance… Riza."


	4. Nightmare

Hey everybody, GHOSTplanetINC here:

Just wanted everybody to know that even though this is labeled as a Romance/Comedy it is going to be a little angst as well in the following chapter. Oh yeah, don't worry about any of the plot twists and turns because it'll all make sense in the end. For now just sit back and enjoy the ride : ). Thanks to everyone who's been commenting on the story so far, especially Sam and Pri. Well here's chapter 4, btw it gets kind of gory so watch out.

BTW… I don't own Full Metal Alchemist so that's my disclaimer.

Oh and don't forget to comment (and be positive!)

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Chapter 4: Nightmare

Deathly heat fell down from the sun and wearing a mask didn't help. Standing in the shadows no one could see you, thanks to your own special blend of alchemy. Narrowing your eyes you watch silently as a group of heavily armed men walk by reciting prayers, loading rifles, and mostly looking ready to kill and be killed. One man's red eyes flash down the alleyway and make contact with yours but he can't see you. None of those men can see you. Not the woman. Not the children. No one can see the inevitable wave of death and destruction about to unfold between one second and the next at your blood stained hands. It's been happening for weeks and so many Ishbalans have now been slain that they are all faceless objectives to be dealt with. Just more blood spewing targets lining themselves up for the slaughter. Twisting the ring on your finger nervously, it's that time again. Unwrapping the bandages from your hands you're ready to send innumerable Ishbalans to meet their god.

Running from the alleyway you're only a blur of the blue military uniform you're forced to wear. Both hands grab the back of two men's necks, breaking the molecular bonds between skin, then tissue and bone and blood. They're dead as your hands are halfway into their tracheas. The next man loses his heart as you create a deep chasm through the front of his chest and yet another's head is cut in two. Move, strike, kill, repeat. Over and over again dead men drop as their blood bathes your hands. Finally there are no more armed men, no more targets, and you get ready to move again when a child appears before you. He won't move as the tears pour from his reddened eyes onto a thirsty ground. Above you the scream of artillery shells marks the imminent destruction of where you're standing. You shout at the kid in front of you to move, to run, to get as far as he can…but he can't hear you. Nor can the woman and children being crushed by debris, or ripped to shreds by the shrapnel, or blown to bits by… NO! It' can't be possible that all this is happening around you. The kid in front of you stops crying as he sees his home collapse in a deafening roar which swallows the screams of the innocence around you. You yell until your throat is beyond hoarse as the child runs toward the falling debris, unyielding to your pleas. Instinctively you reach out and grab the kid around the waist with your…bare hands. Blood soaks your mask as in horror you see the child in your arms break apart into a growing puddle of blood and whatever remains of his body. Taking a ragged breath, one word escapes your mouth as the taste of someone else's blood seeps in…

"**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**!" Jack screamed leaping up from his bed on Captain Riza Hawkeye's couch. Sweat poured out of every pore as stinging tears rolled down his cheeks. Giving in to the sickening pain, he sagged and collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. He could still see the bloody remnants of the little boy in front of him and taste the blood on his tongue… he screams again until his lungs simply are devoid of all air. Falling to his side, he is overcome with gasps for air sporadically interrupting his sobs.

Riza ran into the room woken by the blood curdling screams, pistol in hand with the safety off. Looking around wildly her eyes fell upon the figure curled up on her floor shaking. "Jack!" Riza yelled as she put down her pistol and ran to over to the sobbing alchemist. Instinctively she got down next to his and cradled his head against her chest. "Easy Jack, I've got you…I've got you…" she repeated over and over as his sobs slowly began to die away. Soon his sobs had subsided and Riza helped him into a sitting position, throwing a blanket over his shoulders. She sat down next to him and eyed him with concern. He was still shaking and his breath was ragged. Noting that physical contact seemed to be able to calm him down she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and drew him closer to her. His eyes were still distant as his mouth began to form words. "R-Riza," he whispered in a shaky voice. Riza looked into his eyes although they seemed to be transfixed somewhere far off. "Yes?" she lightly whispered back. He took two ragged breaths and several tears ran down his face, which Riza wiped away with the back of her hand. Shuddering, more words escaped from Jack's mouth. "I-I killed him… I k-killed…him…"he whispered as he slumped to the floor. The strain of the nightmare had completely drained him of energy. Still pretty confused and a little scared by the display, Riza reached over and held the back of her hand near his mouth and watched his chest. Still breathing; he had only passed out. With a sigh of relief that she wouldn't have to report that there was a dead alchemist in her apartment, Riza laid a blanket over the resting figure in front of her. She got up and sat down in an easy chair, watching to make sure nothing further happened. Soon she felt her eyelids begin to fall over her eyes. Looking at the clock on the wall it was just about three in the morning. Slowly, Riza slipped off into a much needed slumber.

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Riza jumped out the chair and grabbed her pistol. _What's that noise and where's it coming from?_ she wondered as she made her way toward her bedroom. Indeed the bedroom was the source of the mystery noise. What was that…beeping? _My alarm! _Riza ran into her room and switched off the beeping alarm clock. The clock read five thirty in the morning, time for her to get ready for another day of work. Sighing, she laid out her uniform and headed toward the bathroom to take a shower.

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Oddly enough, Riza made it through her shower, getting dressed, and sitting down for a quick breakfast before it struck her. "Jack!" she yelled, mostly to herself, as she jumped up from her chair. Rushing into her living room she looked around wildly for the young alchemist. _Wait, was he young? He looked about 24, if you could call that young…_ Riza snapped back to reality when she realized that she was the only person in the room, or the whole apartment for that matter. Walking through the room, she noticed the blanket Jack had used was folded incredibly neatly on one arm of the couch with a note on top of it. Picking up the note, Riza read it to herself quickly:

Captain Hawkeye:

I apologize for the inconvenience caused by myself last night and my disrespectful informal nature. Thank you for your hospitality.

-Major Jack Alexiv

Riza reread it again. It was like he was attempting to undo the entire evening, as if he was trying to cover his tracks or something. "Weird," Riza muttered as she threw away the piece of paper. Her watch read six o'clock. Leaving Black Hayate some breakfast in his bowl, Riza made her way out of her apartment and off toward Eastern Command Headquarters.

(A/N) Short chapter here cuz I'm burned out right now. Let's get some reviews going on people! Oh and a special thanks to Abby too b/c you've been a tremendous help.


	5. Dinner Date

Hello again reader, GHOSTplanetINC here (I know you know that, but I just like to say it : ) ). If you're still reading my story, please let me be the first to say:

THANK YOU!

Okay, now that I go that out of the way, here's the chapter you've been looking forward to…

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With blurred vision you roll of bed and fall to the hardwood floor. Luckily your face breaks your fall as you begin to wake up and realize it's nearly six fifteen in the morning. Work starts at seven but you're not concerned with that. Why is that? The answer is that you've gone back to sleep.

Again your eyes flutter open, this time without a painful prompt. Another glance at the alarm clock on your night table, which is above you as you still are on the floor, confirms you just wasted another half hour. Wait a minute! SIX FORTY-FIVE! It takes at least fifteen minutes to walk to work and you're still in the t-shirt and boxers you fell asleep in last night. With a mingle of panic and curses you manage to cram a scorching hot shower, getting dressed, and downing a oiling cup of back coffee as you proceed to sprint from your apartment, barely remembering to lock it, toward Eastern Command Headquarters.

You risk another glance at your wristwatch. Seven o five. You're late, but not **that** late. In fact you can already see the military compound looming in the distance. With another burst of speed you race toward the building, most likely putting on a good show for anyone who happens to be watching you sprint down the street in your blue military uniform. Someone behind you screams, and turning around your face pales as you begin to run faster. Apparently the date you blew off last night happened to see you run by…

Finally you break through the doors of Eastern Command HQ. Your wristwatch reminds you that you are now…ten minutes late for work. Jamming on the brakes, or so to speak, you stop running and put on a cool smirk with which you walk calmly down the corridor. Entering through the door you bid good morning and nod to the respective officers looking up from their desks. Nothing's out of order here: you're always late.

Congratulations, you've just completed a Roy Mustang morning routine.

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Roy opened the door to his office, proceeding to turn a shade of white and red at the same time. The resulting color came out looking like the pink sparkles you could almost see floating around Major Armstrong every now and then…

Roy stared at the scene which greeted him in his office. Major Zolf Kimbley, the psychotic Crimson Alchemist, was leaning on Riza's desk, his face close to hers. It didn't take a genius to know that he'd probably been hitting on her ever since he had arrived at the office. Riza's expression hadn't changed once during the time that she was forced to put up with Kimbley's presence, which was actually quite remarkable. Kimbley had the innate ability to be able to annoy and irk **any** person on the planet, almost like Jack but more in a way that made you want to jump out the nearest window. Alchemically, Kimbley made literal bio-bombs, preferring to use people as the actual bombs. It was this 'gift' that had landed him in prison back in Central, after he 'relieved his commanding officer of command,' permanently. Roy continued to stare into the office, and almost gag, seeing probably the one person in the military he hated the most.

Noticing Roy in the doorway, Kimbley straightened up and strutted over to Roy. _God, I even hate the way he walks!_ Roy thought to himself with a frown. Ever at the ready around Kimbley, Roy slipped one if his hands into one of his gloves in his coat pocket, just in case. "Major Kimbley," Roy said flatly, clearing his throat loudly, "Under what authority have you been released from your incarceration, let alone enabled to roam as far away from Central as Eastern?" Roy's glare caught Kimbley's eye, which he shrugged off nonchalantly. Roy **hated** when people did that. _How is that no one ever is intimidated by that when I want them to be? Oh, wait, I think it works pretty well on the Elrics. Well, Alphonse anyway…_ Roy's thought were interrupted as Kimbley shoved a piece of paper in his face. "What the hell is this?" Roy asked, pissed off. Kimbley shrugged, "Jeez genius why don't you try reading it, **Sir**?" he asked with a smirk as he left the office. He shot his head back in and whistled at Riza, "See you later, babe," he laughed with one of his trademark annoying smirks. Finally he strode off and out of the corridor's double doors, letting them slam shut. "Asshole," Roy muttered, sitting down at his desk while inspecting the note.

Riza looked over at the note to see what forces could have possibly allowed a lunatic like Kimbley to walk around freely. Roy's frown deepened considerably as he read the last few lines of the note before crumpling it and, to his slight amusement, incinerated it. A bullet whizzed by his head and landed in the wall. "Sir, must I remind you of the military clause prohibiting the use of alchemy in military compounds?" she asked in her usual monotone voice. Roy didn't respond, but rather sat deep in thought, drumming his fingers on the desk. Finally Riza was overcome with curiosity. "So just what did that note say, Sir?" she asked while glancing over at Roy. No reply. "Sir… **Sir**," she repeated before concocting a different approach. Standing up, she walked over behind Roy and placed her hands on his shoulders. She lowered her head to his ear and whispered, "Roy…" Apparently this was the very stimulus Roy needed as his face grew a deep shade of red for a moment, before another smirk drew itself across his face. Noting the closed door which separated his office from the rest of the desks in the corridor, Roy whirled around and gently pulled Riza onto his lap, kissing her in the process. Surprised and stupefied by the stunt, Riza had no time to react before she realized that she had her arms around Roy's neck and her lips locked with his. Finally having to break away for air, Riza panted for air as Roy began to plant kisses down her neck while sliding his hands down to her hips. "Roy!" she breathed, trying not to shout as they were still in the office. Roy paused from his kisses. "Yes?" he whispered back as he kissed her lips again. As they both broke away for air, Riza whispered in Roy's ear, "Not here. Later." _Later. I like the sound of that,_ Roy thought to himself with a slight grin. "Don't we already have arrangements for dinner tonight, if I'm not mistaken?" Roy asked playfully. "Why, yes we do, don't we?" Riza teased back, blushing deeply at the realization that she was straddling Roy's waist. Standing up, Riza bent back down, close to Roy's ear. "Roy," she said in a seductive tone. "Yes, dear?" Roy grinned back. "You've got paperwork to do." Roy's smile disappeared as his eyes shot over to the giant stack of papers in front of his desk. Seeing that Riza had somehow made back to her desk and immersed herself into her paperwork again, Roy took a pen in his hand. _At least now I have some motivation_, he thought with a smirk on his face as he began to fill out paper after paper after… (Well you get the idea).

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Jack was bored. Really bored. Really, really, **really**, bored. He had been wandering around Eastern all day since he had left Riza's apartment around four in the morning. He was still a little embarrassed that he had **that** dream on that particular evening. _I sure hope she doesn't think that was an elaborate attempt to hit on her_, Jack worried as he walked. _Wait a minute! Why the hell am I worrying? It's not my fault if I'm just so simply **irresistible**._ He smiled to himself at that thought. _I wonder what my old friends at Eastern Command are up to. _Jack started off toward the military compound as he saw a familiar face walk by. Soon Jack was heading that way too.

Kimbley strode down the street, utterly bored. Why had Bradley stationed him here anyway? _This place is **so** boring_, he whined to himself, _And why can't I just blow up a few people? It's not like they're important…like me._ Kimbley smirked to himself, as he did most times he assured himself of his own superiority. He went to take another step forward when he tripped over something that wasn't there before. Landing on his hands and springing up, Kimbley got ready to obliterate who or whatever had tripped him. Unfortunately, there was nothing there to be destroyed. Swearing loudly, Kimbley continued down the street. Finally he grabbed a garbage can and, after a small flash of light, threw it back into the alley. As the can burst in a loud explosion, Kimbley wore his trademark sick grin as her resumed his 'stroll' down the street.

Back in the alley Jack was laughing hysterically as he wiped flecks of burnt trash off of himself. Still, despite being covered in garbage, Jack marveled at his own innate ability to annoy the world's most irritating person. "Heh heh heh, still got it!" he laughed as he coughed from the smoke in the alley. "Ah, crap." His mask had been scorched by the garbage bomb. Suddenly a light bulb flickered on over his head. "My other mask!" he exclaimed with a grin, as he pulled out his rarely seen back-up mask. Unlike his scarecrow mask, this one resembled one which possibly a ninja might wear (A/N: Think Kakashi in _Naruto_). Pulling on the new mask, jack shook his head, allowing his hair to fall down on his face. Whether from the explosion of just force of nature, his hair stuck together in spiky locks. _Great, now I look like Envy! _He brushed some locks so as to cover his right eye and stepped out into the street. Suddenly a rather hard piece of metal struck him square in the back. Standing up quickly, Jack saw Edward Elric above him, getting ready to throw another punch with his automail arm. Leaping up, Jack began to run as fast he could without the help of his alchemy skills. _Hell, why not have some more fun with ol' Full Metal?_ He smiled at the prospect, his smile of course hidden behind his mask. Racing down the street he war pursued doggedly by an enraged Ed. Farther behind them Jack could have sworn he heard the sound of clanking metal footsteps.

Ed raced after the figure in front of him. "I don't care even if you are wearing some stupid mask, you're mine Envy!" Ed yelled as he chased 'Envy' down the street, around a few corners, and then down a couple of alleyways. Behind him, Ed could hear a faint a cry which almost sounded like, "Big Brother! Wait up!" growing farther away with each footstep…

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(A/N) Shortness! No, I'm talking about the chapter not my… never mind. This is leading up some good stuff I've got all outlined and ready to be transcribed. Let's get some comments, please! Hey, an author's gotta get some feedback dontchaknow!


	6. Dinner Date part 2

Chapter 6: The Dinner Date 2

Roy scribbled his name over countless reports and papers. _What time is it? _he wondered, though he had been sneaking peaks at the clock throughout the day. The clock read four thirty, which meant that Roy's time to complete his daily paperwork requirement was beginning to reach the fine line between 'just finishing on time' and 'spending some quality time in the office volunteering unpaid overtime.' Roy's eyes shot back to the report at hand and then over at the stack in front of him. _Okay…if there are absolutely no distractions from here on out, I should be able to get them all done in time for my date._ He glanced over at Riza and smirked. _**Our** date._

Roy started scanning over the papers in front of him when the door to his office crashed open.

"HEY EVERBODY, LOOK! IT'S THE WORLD'S FIRST MIDGET ALCHEMIST!" Major Jack Alexiv bellowed as he burst through the doorway with Edward Elric's head tucked under his arm as the rest of Ed's body, being dragged, struggled to get away. Popping his head out, Ed shouted back, "I'M NOT SHORT!" Almost unable to hold back his laughter, Jack simply replied, "I didn't say you were short…" Ed gave him a suspicious look which mingled with the death glare he was already shooting at Jack. Finally Jack couldn't resist. "You're not short… You're just a midget!"

"YOU'RE DEAD!" Ed howled and began to chase the Shadow Alchemist out the office and into the sea of desks in the outer corridor. Laughter rang out and mixed with angry shouts and curses as the chase moved throughout the room. "Big Brother! Don't!" A giant suit of armor came running into the room, clanking on the tile floor with each footstep.

The chase grew into that of three: Jack leading, followed by Ed, followed by his brother, Al. The corridor rang with the sound of laughter, shouts/curses, and clanking metal as the chase continued to wind through the maze of desks. The officers sat stupefied as the chase came to include leaping over desks, except for Al who had to run around them (poor Al!).

Finally Roy walked out of his office, slipped on hid gloves, and waited for just the right moment. As the chase swung around towards him, Roy snapped his fingers. A large blast of fire ended the chase abruptly.

"Now if you all would like to put a stop to screwing around on military time…" he began, attempting to conceal his rage and desire to incinerate them both for the large disturbance. Unfortunately, Roy never got to finish the statement as he was cut off by more fighting, as Ed and Jack rolled back and forth on the floor as Ed tried to pound Jack flat.

"SO I'M SMALL, AM I!"

"Yeah, you are!"

"I'M **NOT** SMALL!"

"Then we're all just **really** tall!"

"SHUT UP!"

"Don't get so worked up, little guy!"

"ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!"

Finally a gun shot ended the fighting for good.

"The next one will not be a warning shot," Riza warned, still holding the gun aimed at both Ed and Jack.

"Ah, you're no fun," Jack sighed as he stood up. Riza still held the gun at the both of them for a minute before slowly holstering it. **Slowly.**

"Do you really want to be shot, Sir?" she asked sarcastically.

Jack shrugged as he mumbled, "…wouldn't be the worst thing I've been through."

Meanwhile Al was holding back a ravenous Ed. "Big Brother, **please**…" Al pleaded, trying to calm down the elder of the two Elric brothers. Finally Roy took control of the room again, clearing his throat loudly to bring emphasis back to himself.

"The next person who moves is charcoal," he growled in a low voice, "Is that crystal clear?" His black eyes penetrated both of the alchemists in front of him, conveying the fact that he truly was pissed off. Both Ed and Jack nodded. Although neither were particularly scared by the colonel's threat, enough was enough.

"Now what is so damn important that the two of you come barging in like this?" Roy asked while glaring at the Full Metal alchemist then the Shadow alchemist.

Jack grinned. "Actually I was just looking for a laugh or two." Multiple scowls and the sound of a handgun being cocked told him to stop talking.

"And you Ed?" the colonel asked, directing his full attention to the automail equipped alchemist in front of him.

"I, uh, was investigating a, uh, lead on the Philosopher's Stone… and then, um…here we are," he finally finished with an unconvincing grin. Roy glared at him suspiciously until finally Alphonse piped up.

"Actually, Brother, you mistook Jack for the Homunculus Envy and basically chased him here until he got you in that headlock," Al informed to his now sweating brother.

"AL!"

"Sooo, the truth finally comes out," Roy said with a smirk appearing on his face. He looked down at Ed, who was still on the floor and frowned at the look he was getting from the colonel. "Ed, if I'm not mistaken, you were last in Central about two months ago when you took a substantial part of you research grant to continue your investigation. Am I correct?"

Ed scowled. He knew where Mustang was going with this. "Yeah, so what?"

Roy's smirk grew slightly larger. "Well, protocol calls for a report following a designation of military research funds. I expect it by tomorrow no later than fourteen hundred hours."

Ed's scowl exploded into rage again. "Oh c'mon! How am I supposed to summarize two months of research in one night?"

Again, Roy's smirk grew. "I'm sure Alphonse will be able to assist you as well as Major Alexiv here," he added, motioning toward Jack who was standing next to him.

Jack choked. "What!" he managed to cough out finally.

Roy turned around and began to walk back into his office. "You heard me. Dismissed."

Jack stood there for a second before walking over toward the two Elrics. "Thanks," he said, "…Colonel Bastard." Ed laughed as they began to walk out of the corridor.

Riza passed by the trio as she made her way toward Roy's office. "Oh, and nice hair, Major Alexiv," she added with a laugh.

Jack ran his fingers through his spiky hair. "Why… thank you very much," he smiled with a wink. Suddenly his head jerked back as Ed grabbed a handful of hair and continued to drag Jack towards the door. "C'mon, we got papers to write," he said with a frown. A dark smile crossed Ed's face. "I mean **you've **got papers to write," he added with an evil laugh. A single tear ran down Jack's face as he was dragged out of Eastern Command.

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Riza sat back down at her desk.

"Sir, was it really necessary to assign them to work together? I have the suspicion that it will lead to some sort of… destruction," she stated as she stacked her completed paperwork. Looking at the clock it was now five o five.

Roy continued to scribble madly on the reports in front of him. "Why, no, it wasn't necessary," he said as he finished his last sheet of paperwork. He walked over to Riza's desk and collected her papers as he prepared to have them filed. "I just wanted to keep those idiots busy for the rest of the night," he said with a smile as he kissed her.

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_Seven Fifty-eight._ Roy silently read the time off his wristwatch as he sprinted down the street. Somewhere between getting back to his own apartment from walking Riza home at around six fifteen and two minutes ago time had decided to accelerate dramatically. _Almost there…_Roy thought to himself, taking in gasps of air as he closed in on Riza's apartment. A block before reaching her door Roy stopped, took several deep breaths, and began to walk casually on the rest of the way. Running his hand through his hair he took a deep breath and exhaled before knocking on the door. Technically this was the first time he had arrived at her apartment alone and his nerves were slightly tensed.

As the door opened, Roy nearly choked as his eyes came to rest on the woman in front of him. Before him, in a stunning, silky black dress and black high heeled shoes, was Riza Hawkeye as Roy had never seen before. To complete the transformation from soldier to beauty, Riza's hair flowed freely down as opposed to the normal clipped-up style she donned each day for work. A slight dash of makeup and it was as if an angel had landed on Earth.

"Hello Roy!" she said with a bright smile. "Roy?" Riza waved her hand in front of Roy's face a few times. He was frozen in his tracks. Sighing, Riza drew a pistol from her purse and fired it next to (not at) Roy's ear. The loud noise apparently snapped the colonel out of his infatuated stupor as he looked around wildly, as if awaking from sleepwalking. Riza laughed as Roy shook his head to shake off the last bits of his daze.

"Do all women have this effect on you, dare I ask?" Riza asked with a grin.

"Are all women named Riza?" Roy asked back with a grin of his own. Riza could only laugh at the somewhat lame comeback, but decided to let it slide.

"What, no flowers?' she teased. Now it was Roy's time to laugh.

"Not quite none," he said with a smirk. Riza noticed Roy was wearing one of his gloves. Snapping his fingers, a small flame exploded in the shape of a rose.

"Impressive," remarked Riza, but her eyes told Roy that his trick had really left her speechless.

Roy held out his arm. "Shall we go, my dear?" he said with a feigned grandeur. Riza stifled a laugh as she took his arm.

"Why, yes, let's," she said as they set off for their dinner date.

The night was cool with a light breeze. As the couple made their way down the quieted street Roy instinctively took off his jacket and draped it over Riza's shoulders. _I wonder how he knew I was freezing, _Riza wondered as she drew closer to Roy, whose arm wrapped around her in response. A blush came across both their faces as they made their way down the street, passing by the Second Branch of the National Central Library.

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From within the library, two faces were pressed against one of the windows, showering the passing couple with scathing looks.

"**I-Hate-You-Mustang,**" Ed growled, emphasizing each word with venomous disdain.

"Ditto," Jack muttered, face pressed next to Ed's and wearing the same irritated expression.

From farther back in the room, Alphonse's voice rang out.

"Hey guys, come on. We've got another twenty or so pages to go before we're done."

Two simultaneous groans replied to the younger Elric's request as the two faces peeled off the window and trudged back to the paper-littered table behind them.

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(A/N) Hey guys hope you liked this chapter! I tried stretching the dialogue and paragraphs out so it'd be easier to read; let me know if its better, worse, or whatever. Oh, and I just wanted to say that if you think I'm putting my OC too much into my story well fear not as it will not be becoming a story about him plus FMA. (I just love my OC soooo much though!  ) Okay so review, oh merciful readers! **PLEASE!**


	7. Morning Routines

(A/N) Hey everyone, GHOSTplanetINC here. Okay so I realize that my interpretations of the FMA characters are OOC in a bunch of ways but, hey, that's what makes my story different and interesting from all the other fics out there. Also, let me also clarify now, though probably a bit late, that the title "The Black Alchemist" was originally supposed to be related to my OC, Jack, but I decided later to change 'black' to 'shadow.' Anyway, without further adieu, may I present to you my latest installment to "The Black Alchemist."

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Chapter 7: Morning Routines

"What the hell are we waiting for?" an annoyed voice rang out.

"Shut it. When he says he'll be here, he will," another voice barked back.

"Hmph, I'll believe that when I see it," the first voice murmured, "that is, if he shows up at all."

"What the hell did I just tell you?"

"Hey, why don't you both shut up? At least your finger tips aren't all bloody from typing damn reports all night!" a third voice shouted in a tired tone. Both the first and second speakers turned and looked at the third, who had just arrived. Oddly all that had entered through the door all night was a strong breeze a few minutes ago. The two men shrugged and sat back down in their chairs.

Finally the clock struck midnight and the door creaked open. Stepping out of the shadowed street came the expected 'guest of honor.' All three men rose from where they sat with hasty salutes. A wave from the fourth man's hand and the salutes dropped along with the three men into their chairs. The fourth man walked around and took his respective seat across from the other three at the table. He donned a smile which somewhat contrasted his legacy and black eye patch, but was associated with him nonetheless.

"Gentlemen," the man known as Fuhrer began, "shall we begin tonight's assembly?"

The first speaker jumped forward in his chair. "Hey! You invited **us**, what do you want anyway? And why did you station me in this crap town anyway?"

Fuhrer Bradley did not even bother to turn his head. "Major Kimbley, if you have an objection to my counsel please submit your complaint in writing," he calmly responded, "unless, perhaps, you'd like another extended visit to the Lab 5 prison?"

Kimbley, the first speaker, sat back in his chair with a scowl. Nothing was worth being sent back to that hellhole prison. _Well…_ he thought to himself, picturing a city being obliterated by a giant explosion _…almost nothing._

The second speaker tried to ignore the creepy smile which had found its way onto Kimbley's face. Clearing his throat, he began to ask his own questions.

"Sir, as much as it pains me to say this, I agree with Major Kimbley. For what purpose were we three stationed here, under Mustang's command?" he asked with an air of respect for the figure in front of him.

Bradley smiled again. "Now Majors," he began, regarding that all the men in front of him were in fact the rank of Major, "A dog does not ask its master which way its leash is pulled, should such 'Dogs of the Military' act differently?"

The three men remained silent. Being a state alchemist commanded an array of reactions from civilians and other soldiers alike. Fear, respect, but most of all disdain for the so called 'Dogs of the Military' were some of the usual responses. Most people disliked the state alchemists and so chased them away. Despite the creed of the State Alchemist being to serve the people, militaristic corruption had ruined that image in the minds of most.

The second speaker sat back in his chair and sighed. The Fuhrer's response had only served to better confuse him and cloud the objective of the trio's mission. He scratched his head and readjusted the goggles that resting on his forehead. It was going to be a long couple of weeks. _Weeks? Hell, I could be here for months!_ He sighed to himself again and could swear he felt a migraine coming on.

Finally Bradley turned his attention to the third speaker, who silently been fiddling with his hands during the entire meeting.

"And our intelligence, what have you found so far?"

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Ed walked the streets of Central in a fixed silence. He had been this way since they had finished the report that Mustang, aka Colonel Bastard, had assigned him to complete by the next day. Surprisingly it hadn't taken long with that shadow guy's lightning typing. In fact, Ed had been walking around for almost two hours since they had finished. Of course, that had been at around midnight.

Al was asleep back in the military lodgings that Roy had provided them with for their stay in Central. Trying not to wake his brother, Ed had snuck out through the window and began to wander the streets as a result of an inexplicable restlessness.

_Why can't I shake this feeling? _Ed wondered as he sent an empty can flying with a swift kick. Turning another corner he froze and ducked into an alley. Peering around the corner of the building he saw three men duck out of what looked like an old warehouse. Two of them promptly disappeared into a patch of darkened street where a streetlight had gone out, while the third came toward where Ed was hiding.

Ed ducked behind a cluster of trash cans, and for once in his life was thankful that he was small. That is he was thankful four about a second. Half a second. Actually he slapped himself for even somewhat admitting he was small, but that's beside the point. Peering out from behind the trash can barricade he caught sight of the man's face as he passed by…

Kimbley.

Ed nearly cursed loudly, before realizing that he was trying to stay hidden. Still, despite his best efforts, a small swear broke past Ed's lips.

"Damn it."

Kimbley spun around on his heel and scanned the street for whomever, or whatever, made the noise. He stood poised to strike, tattooed hands at the ready to create a living grenade. There was nothing in front of him. Swearing loudly, he punched the fence next to him, breaking a hole in the wood. He contemplated making a large firecracker out of a nearby group of garbage cans…

Ed held his breath as Kimbley strode over toward his hiding spot. A crazed glint was visible in the Crimson Alchemist's eye. _Oh no,_ Ed thought, _Don't tell me he's going to…_

A bead of sweat ran down the side of his face.

Normally Ed wouldn't hid from a sleaze like Zolf Kimbley, but being caught spying by a man formerly imprisoned for obliterating his commanding officer was not something Ed wanted to happen. Kimbley came within a foot of the garbage cans before stopping and turning around.

_The last thing I need is a big boom making me the center of attention on Mustang's turf,_ Kimbley reminded himself, resuming his walk back down the street. _'Specially after coming out of a secret meeting. Hell, Bradley would have my ass back in the slammer so fast…_ he continued to think to himself as he made his way back toward the military barracks.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ed came out from his hiding place. _What the hell was Kimbley doing down here?_ He wondered, scowling in the direction Kimbley had gone. _I better follow him, or the next thing I know half the city will be blown apart…_

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_Wha- Where the hell am I?_ Roy sat up quickly in his bed and whipped his head back and forth scanning the room around him. He was… in his own room and next to him was…nobody. Suddenly he got dizzy and fell back onto his pillow. _Guess I got up too fast,_ he thought as he shook his head. Slowly the day was getting clearer. Leaning on his side he switched off the alarm that had woken him up. Surprisingly it was six am and Roy Mustang was wide awake and it seemed as though he would be on time for work for the first time in his life.

In the apartment of Riza Hawkeye an alarm rang out, announcing that it was now six am. Gently switching off the alarm, Riza yawned and rolled out of bed. Pulling her military uniform from her closet and placing it on her bed, she walked down the hall to the bathroom.

The water hit Roy like a slap to the face. Slowly rotating his arms and then neck under the falling water, which was incredibly hot, as he liked it, Roy slowly began to remember the previous night. He wasn't drunk, no, he didn't have a hangover or anything; he simply just had forgotten throughout the course of the night. Thinking harder he remembered going out on a date with…

Riza switched off the water to her shower and, stepping out, wrapped a yellow towel around herself. Drying her hair with a different towel, she thought about her dinner date with Roy the night before. Sure, she had been a bit apprehensive beforehand, due in part to Roy's interesting track record of dating every girl from Eastern to Central and proposing that female officers' uniforms consist of mandatory miniskirts, but when he arrived he seemed like an almost different person entirely. Not too different, just different enough to be…refreshing. He was actually much more charming than she would ever have thought. In fact, the date began perfectly with…

A walk under the stars. Yes! They had walked under the stars on their way to the restaurant. It was all coming back to Roy now. They had walked under a clear star filled sky as a cool breeze gently pushed the few clouds across the vast horizon. Roy remembered noticing Riza shiver and draping his jacket around her shoulders. He smiled as he remembered her pulling closer to him and him putting his arm around her. His head had swam with elation, in fact, so much so that he almost forgotten where…

_The restaurant was amazing_, Riza remembered as she buttoned the shirt to her military uniform. Beyond even the scope of dinner, the entire night had been simply enchanting, from first walking to the restaurant to the kiss goodnight. _Hmm…I hope the kiss didn't send Roy's mind straight into the gutter,_ Riza thought with a smile. The smile turned to a mild frown as she realized that was something typical of Roy. _Well we'll just have to change that, won't we?_ Riza laughed to herself as a devilish grin dared cross her face. Pouring herself a cup of coffee, Riza dropped some food into Black Hayate's bowl (the scruffy pup still curled up in his bed) and set out for…

Eastern Command HQ loomed over Roy as he dragged his feet tiredly toward the front steps. _Uhh…No wonder I never get up this early_, he groaned silently as he made his way slowly up the stairs. As Roy passed through the main foyer toward his office a familiar voice rang out…

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_Where the heck did you go, Brother?_ Alphonse Elric wondered. Looking around the military dorm room he saw the sheets on Ed's bed thrown askew and Ed's clothes and boots, which had been laid out on a chair, were missing.

"Damn it Ed, Why do you always sneak off like this?" Al suddenly asked aloud. Scratching his metal head with one of the steel gauntlets that were his hands, Al silently scolded himself for cursing, thinking of the scolding he'd get if Granny Pinako had heard him or worse… if sensei had heard him! Alarmed by the image of cursing in front of his sensei, Al took off out of the room and down the hall to find Ed, trying hard to put thoughts of him cursing out of mind.

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Ed sat up and shook his head.

"Wha-what happened?" he asked no one in particular as his eyes came into focus. With a glance about he realized he was lying on a park bench. Swing his feet to the side he came up into a sitting position.

_Crap, I spent the entire night following that idiot Kimbley and for what? All he did was hang out at some bar all night then head back to the dorms. _

Getting up, Ed stretched and began to walk back toward the military dormitories where he was sure Al would have already discovered him missing. Walking down a path he saw something out the corner of his eye. Turning around Ed was greeted with the sight of Major Jack Alexiv hanging upside down from a tree, holding himself up with his knees hooked around branch as his arms dangled freely. Amazingly, he was asleep as well.

"HEY! What the hell are you doing up there!" Ed yelled at the sleeping figure before him.

Roused by the shouts Jack woke with a start, falling out of the tree and landing on his head with a thud.

"Agh! What're you doing! Trying to kill me?" Jack barked back as he rubbed the large bruise forming on his head.

"Me? I wasn't the one hanging from a tree by my legs!"

"Yeah, well maybe I like it that way?"

"How could anyone like dangling?"

"You wouldn't understand. It's a tall person thing."

"**WHAT! I'M NOT SHORT"**

A/N: The argument progressed to yet another fight which raged until they both collapsed from exhaustion and were found eventually by a very confused Alphonse Elric.

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A/N: Okay, this chapter wasn't all that dynamic I'll admit and I was partially asleep as I wrote most of it so please be gentle in the feedback. Thanks: )

**Preview: **Chapter 8: Badda Bing, Badda Boom!

After a night on the town, how will Riza and Roy act toward each other at work? What was the purpose of that secret meeting? Who was that familiar voice calling out to Roy? Will Ed get his report in on time? All these questions and more will be answered in CHAPTER 8: BADDA BING, BADDA BOOM! (also look for the introduction of the one and only… Maes Hughes!)


	8. Badda Bing, Badda Boom!

A/N: hey wow, time flies when you're having fun! Well actually I just can't manage time for my life. Thank you all for the reviews (though I would have like bit more (sob)) but seriously thank you all. Sorry also if I hadn't replied to your comments, but I thought I was supposed to respond through my writing and not through direct emails so….I am really sorry! Anyway here's the next chapter and btw RIP Maes Hughes (tear drop).

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Chapter 8: Badda Bing, Badda Boom!

A quick look into the life of Riza Hawkeye assured a distinct metamorphosis of character over the past few days. Her usual stern façade had, by degrees, been melting away to reveal a woman of much emotion. She was strong and strict when the situation arrived, as Havoc could assure you after making a small joke about her new more approachable nature (and nearly had earned himself a bullet in the head in the process), but had now evaded the old image of 'scary Captain Hawkeye,' which had circulated around the base from those familiar with her cold formal relations. Indeed, Riza Hawkeye had turned from once an intimidating, cold force to be reckoned with to…well… a slightly warmer, more approachable force to be reckoned with (again, just ask Havoc…).

What had caused this change? Why the new disposition after years of icy formalness? Some may say that, perhaps it was just a general change that had gone unnoticed till now (some like Kain Fuery, that is.). Others pushed the idea that this was not Riza Hawkeye at all but and alien imposter! (Thank you again, Havoc). But these rumors, for that was all they really were, basically spread and died only amongst Roy's echelon of officers (Fuery, Falman, Breda, and Havoc).

What really had caused the change was none other than love. Yes, Cupid's arrow, Aphrodite's touch, whatever you called it, love had caused the transformation within Roy's right-hand woman. That is, or so Maes Hughes thought. Actually, he advocated it more than he thought it, but only really to one person above all else: his best friend Roy Mustang.

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"ROY!" called an all too familiar voice across the foyer of Eastern Command HQ. "Roy, slow down! I've got some pictures of Elysia that are **SO** cute! You have got to see them!"

Roy's ears pricked at the sound of Maes Hughes' voice behind him. "Oh no, not again…" Roy muttered to himself, a bead of sweat dropping from his brow. He quickened his pace and kept his gaze steadfast toward the door to his office. Thirty feet to go…twenty… ten…almost there!

A hand clapped down on Roy's shoulder, dashing his hopes of escaping into his office. Maes was a good friend, in fact he was Roy's best friend, but he was also incredibly annoying at times. One such example was the near daily ritual of showing off pictures of his three year old daughter, Elysia, while bragging about his family. Roy had to admit that Elysia was a cute kid, but cute had its limits somewhere around the fiftieth picture. Thus, Roy attempted to evade his friend altogether each morning, failing nine time out of ten.

Roy sighed in defeat and turned around with a forced smile. "Hello Maes, what's up?"

Maes grinned idiotically, creeping Roy out a little in the process. "Oh, nothing much with me," he said with a twinkle in his eye, "but how bout yourself?"

Roy let out a breath of relief. Usually by now Maes would have suffocated Roy with the hundreds of family pictures he managed to keep on his person at all times, but today something was different. Roy looked his friend in the eye. _What the hell is he up to? _Roy wondered, noticing the look Maes was giving him.

"Okay Maes, what are you up to?" Roy asked, now annoyed at his friend's game so early in the morning. Light reflected off Maes' glasses as he cupped his chin with his index finger and thumb, grin changing to a smirk.

"So absolutely nothing is new Roy?" Maes asked again, giving Roy a skeptical look.

"No, nothing Maes," Roy said adamantly. _Why is he pushing this so hard?_ He wondered as he gave his friend a slightly puzzled look.

Finally Maes gave up and turned with a shrug. "Fine, nevermind," he said walking away. A few steps away, he looked over his shoulder at Roy, "Oh and perhaps you can tell Captain Hawkeye I said hello over dinner tonight," he said with a wink as he disappeared back into his office.

Roy's eyes widened in surprise then narrowed. _Damn it! How did he find out? _Roy sighed and walked through the door to his office. Suddenly another thought entered his mind which made him groan loudly. _Great, now he's going to bug the crap out of me about this for weeks!_

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"So when are you going to turn in that report?" Jack asked, giving Ed a rare, serious look.

"What report?" Ed asked as he took a swig from his cup of coffee.

It was just about seven am and after a rude awakening and a rousing early morning fight, Majors Edward Elric and Jack Alexiv sat in the military cafeteria along with Ed's brother Alphonse, eating an early breakfast. That is to say that Ed and Jack were wolfing down their plates of food while poor Alphonse politely declined, saying he wasn't hungry. Finally, after about ten minutes, both alchemists finished and now sat, idly talking as they killed time for nothing in particular.

Jack spoke up first. "So why exactly are you here, Ed?" Jack asked, lazily chewing on the end of a toothpick.

"Well, we actually were returning from another phony lead on the Philosopher's Stone," he said with a yawn, "then we were going to make our way back to Resembool, our home town."

"Is that so?" Jack asked leaning back in his chair as he brushed his bangs over the right eye. "So what's the occasion for headin' home? Got a girlfriend or something?"

"NO! I DO NOT HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!" Ed shouted back, jumping up from his chair. Al tried to calm him down, a tone of slight embarrassment in his voice.

"Oh so no girlfriend huh?" Jack seemed to mull the fact over for a second, before adding, "Then who's Winry Rockbell?"

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**Five Hours Later (about 12 o'clock)**

The day had flown by for every officer except Roy Mustang, who sat preoccupied by what Maes had said over five hours ago. _How the hell did he find out?_ Roy thought, agitated, furiously tapping his pen against his desk. Though there was no rule against a relationship between a male and female officer, Roy wanted there to be nothing for the higher-ups to use against him in his quest to become Fuhrer. _But I don't want to lose Riza in the process either,_ he thought, slamming his fist on his desk. All this thinking was starting to really become a hassle. _Damn you Maes…_

As if on cue, in came Maes Hughes, swaggering in with yet another grin plastered on his face.

"Hey Roy!" he said in a cheery tone. Shrugging off the venomous scowl Roy shot at him, he looked around the office. "So, uh, what happened to Hawkeye?" he asked, jerking his thumb in the direction of her desk.

"She went on lunch break,"he said with a frown, "of course I would be on break too if not for a stupid friend of mine distracting me with his insufferable nosiness."

Maes continued to look around the office until his eyes settled on looking out the window. "So…which friend would this be?"

"YOU, IDIOT!" Roy finally yelled as he jumped up from his desk. He had been working to suppress his frustration, yet eventually it got the better of him.

"What do you mean me? How did **I** distract you?" Maes asked with an innocent look on his face.

Roy shot him an incredulous glance. Could he really have forgotten? Was he just pulling his leg before? _No…he can't fool me this easily,_ Roy finally decided, regaining his composure with a smirk.

"So that comment you made earlier…you don't remember it?" Roy asked cautiously.

"Roy, I really don't know what you're talking about." His answer was given in the most sincere voice imaginable. In fact, there was no officer in that building who would not have been fooled, that is except for the bead of sweat that dropped from his brow, which gave him away.

_Heh…gotcha._

Roy suddenly whipped a picture of Elysia from his pocket, a memento Roy had picked up one day after Maes had dropped it from a pile of about a hundred. He had decided to keep it in case an opportunity arose where it might work in his favor. This looked like one of those opportunities.

"Is that a picture of Elysia…?" Maes began before noticing that Roy had slipped on one of his pyrotex ignition gloves. "Uh, Roy… what are you doing?" Maes asked with a nervous laugh, sweat now rolling down his face.

Roy began slowly, a wide smirk drawn across his face. "Now let's try this again…what, exactly, did you mean by your comment earlier this morning?"

"Okay, okay! You got me! I happened to be walking back from the market when I saw you too heading through the park together. I saw the casual clothes and put two and two together. Now just give me the picture, please!" Maes blurted out suddenly.

Roy tossed the picture over to his friend, "Thank you." Maes started for the door when Roy called out to him again. "Say you didn't share this little observation with any other officer did you?" Roy asked, eyeing Maes suspiciously.

"Nope, no one but you, scout's honor," Maes quickly said, hurrying out the door.

Roy sat back into his chair with a sigh. _So there really wasn't any need to worry, _he mused as he picked up his pen to finish some paperwork. _Wait a minute! Maes wasn't a scout! Damn it!_

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**Five hours before (back around 7 am)**

Ed's face paled as he fell over in his chair. "H-how do you know Winry!" he demanded, jumping to his feet and point an accusatory finger at the nonchalant alchemist seated across from him.

Jack shrugged. "Hey, I'm not called a master of intelligence for nothing, you know," he simply stated, continuing to chew on his toothpick.

Both Ed and Al looked at each other, exchanging looks of awe (A/N: okay I know Al doesn't really have a face but trust me, he's in awe!).

"Wow, how did you come up with that?" Alphonse asked with eager curiosity.

"Um, well, the name's actually etched into his arm," Jack hesitantly replied, pointing toward Ed's exposed metal arm.

Ed's arm jerked up as he examined the 'branding' on his arm with a look of mortified shock glued to his face.

"**WINNRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY…!"**

Upstairs, in the office of Roy Mustang, Captain Riza Hawkeye looked up from her paperwork and over at her superior.

"Did you just here something?"

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**Five Hours Later (again) (about 12 o'clock)**

**(A/N: I just found out that East City is the name of the city where Eastern Command HQ is, sorry for earlier confusion!)**

Jack checked his watch as he made his way toward the warehouse district of East City, glancing over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being followed. 12:03pm. With a final look over his shoulder, he kicked the door to one of the numerous abandoned warehouses open and stepped inside.

Two familiar faces from the previous night greeted him as he pushed the door shut and sat down on a crate.

"Ah, good of you to finally show up," mocked the alchemist to his right.

Looking over, Jack recognized the strange goggles that the eccentric alchemist insisted upon wearing. Yes, he had heard of this guy before. No one really knew his real name but rather referred to him by his codename: Ghost. Brandishing a large scythe, which he generally wore slung over his shoulder, and concealing his features by wrapping his face from the nose down with bandages, Ghost was known only in the back alleys of the military. He was no Ishbal veteran as he had passed the alchemy exam several years after, but his reputation proceeded as one of the military's top assassins, that is, to those who knew of him. Yes, the military would deny having any sort of connection with an alchemist like him, but then again what did the military care as long as they had their tool to destroy what needed to be destroyed covertly?

To complete the trio, the oh-so familiar Zolf Kimbley was present, currently lounging on an old table.

Looking around, Jack had to marvel at how the military was a magnet for scum such as them and how they always found a way to lump them all together for some murky assignment.

"So what are we here for anyway?" Jack asked in an agitated tone.

Kimbley jumped up and cracked his knuckles. "What's the matter? The mission getting in the way of your spying?" He hissed with a yawn.

"Let's just get this over with," Jack replied without emotion, "because as a matter of fact, it is."

Kimbley shrugged and glanced over in the direction of the alchemist known as 'Ghost.' "Let's go, it's your turn now ghost-boy," he growled with the hint of smirk crossing his face.

The oddly clothed alchemist stood and clapped his hands together, disappearing into the shadows without a sound.

Looking up, Jack saw Kimbley smiling idiotically. "Time for some fireworks…" he said with a grin.

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Author's Notes: Let me just start by saying that I am sorry of this chapter is confusing, pointless, or however other way you could negatively characterize this chapter. Personally I was just trying to set up the real action so thank you for sticking with it. Yes there will be more RoyxRiza, yes I will tell you what's up with Jack's right eye, and yes this will make sense eventually (I hope). A special thanks to the story ****Branded** for the idea of the branding (check it out y'all, great story thus far) and thanks to all the fans out there who keep reading. Read and Review please cuz I need feedback to work with. Thank's y'all!Let me just start by saying that I am sorry of this chapter is confusing, pointless, or however other way you could negatively characterize this chapter. Personally I was just trying to set up the real action so thank you for sticking with it. Yes there will be more RoyxRiza, yes I will tell you what's up with Jack's right eye, and yes this will make sense eventually (I hope). A special thanks to the story for the idea of the branding (check it out y'all, great story thus far) and thanks to all the fans out there who keep reading. Read and Review please cuz I need feedback to work with. Thank's y'all! 


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